Before his Braves debut on Monday, Braves infielder Gordon Beckham talked about his excitement at coming home to play at Turner Field.
That elation turned into dejection when Beckham’s errant throw led to the go-ahead run for the Nationals in a 4-3 loss.
“I struck out twice and I had an error to lose the game,” Beckham said. “Not a good start. It is what it is. I’ll come back.”
Beckham starred at The Westminster School and the University of Georgia. He entered the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning for his first official game played at Turner Field. Beckham appeared in four intra-league games against the Braves in Chicago while with the White Sox.
Beckham struck out in his first at-bat and remained in the game to play second base. He struck out again in the ninth inning with the score tied 3-3 and then committed a two-base error in the top of the 10th.
Beckham collected Ryan Zimmerman’s ground ball with plenty of time to throw to first but the throw went well wide of first baseman Freddie Freeman.
“I just sailed it left and it never came back,” Beckham said.
Daniel Murphy followed with a double against Eric O’Flaherty to score Zimmerman. Jonathan Papelbon retired the Braves in order in the bottom of the inning.
Beckham singed a major-league deal with the Braves in December and he was with the team throughout spring training. There was little question he’d be on the roster for opening day but he said it didn’t start feel real until he broke camp and came to Turner Field over the weekend.
“It’s definitely one of those kind of ‘pinch yourself’ moments,” Beckham said before the game. “Walking around and just being like, ‘I cannot believe I’m going to play for the Braves.’ The coolest part is I feel so comfortable, at peace with it. I’m just excited to let that play out over the season and see what happens. I think that’s going to be pretty good.”
The White Sox selected him in the first round of round of the 2008 draft and he played all seven of his previous seasons for them, save for a 26-game stint with the Angels in 2014.
The Braves signed Beckham to a one-year contract with the hope he can bounce back from a career-worst season in 2015. He could eventually end up platooning at second base with Jace Peterson.
